Auditor outlines possible conflicts

MariAn Gail Brown

Updated 11:37 pm, Monday, July 29, 2013

TRUMBULL -- The town's internal auditor released a scathing report Monday to the Board of Finance that urges school administrators to establish a "clear chain of command" that tells an independent contractor who's boss.

Jim Henderson, a financial analyst for the town, filed a 123-page assessment of the school's snow-removal efforts and conflict of interests between its employees and Al Barbarotta, of AFB Construction Management Inc. Henderson claims that the lines are blurred as to whether Barbarotta is an employee of the school system or an independent contractor.

Barbarotta has agreements with the school system to oversee construction and hire subcontractors, but Henderson claims Barbarotta also directs the day-to-day actions of salaried and union school maintenance personnel. Barbarotta has a Trumbull Public Schools email address and a phone at the school system's Long Hill Administration Building.

In past interviews, Barbarotta has asserted he is exempt from the town's ethics policy because he is an independent contractor. He could not be reached Monday for his response to Henderson's recommendations.

Henderson claims that Barbarotta was the "ultimate decision-maker" regarding who to hire to remove snow at town schools during snowstorms over the past two years. That authority, Henderson said, suggests he oversees two salaried employees for the school system in its plant operations department, one of whom is a member of a collective bargaining unit.

"If he is an independent contractor, how can he supervise salaried, unionized employees?" Henderson asks. "What is the organizational structure of the plant operations department?" he states in his report. "I can find no other example in town government where an independent contractor's decision-making supersedes that of a town employee with respect to day-to-day decision making."

Elaine Hammers, the chairwoman of the Board of Finance, and board member Andy Palo confirmed that they received Henderson's report and recommendations, but have yet to read it. The document appears to track many of the issues that were the basis of an Ethics Commission probe that dismissed conflict of interest charges against Barbarotta, the former school superintendent, a school facilities plant administrator, a school board member and an attorney who chairs the high school building renovation project.

The internal auditor found that a company that Barbarotta is affiliated with, Conveo Energy LLC, obtained information through Trumbull school officials that would give it an "unfair advantage" over competitors if energy efficiency services were put out to bid.

Palo recalled a presentation that Barbarotta made this spring to the Board of Finance about the merits of installing a fuel cell at Trumbull High School.

"I personally knew he was somehow personally involved in that venture," Palo said. "He didn't give out that information during the meeting. Someone else from the Board of Ed told me," Palo said. "We weren't voting on anything, so I didn't pursue it. If we had had a vote come up, though, I would have."

Nevertheless, Palo said his gut feeling is, if Barbarotta is "advocating for a company that he's personally associated with, exchanging information that he's obtained in his capacity as our owner's representative or construction oversight manager, I have an issue with using him and those companies. He's wearing too many hats. And it strikes me as wrong."

Hammers said she anticipates that Henderson's findings and recommendations will get a public airing on Aug. 15, when the Board of Finance next meets. As to how the town's financial watchdogs may react, she said, "We rely on our auditor for thoughtful analysis, and have always felt our reliance on him was well-placed."

"Under state law, school systems are as autonomous as any agency of government can get," she said. "Once we approve their funding, we have no control over what they do with their money. So, they have several choices with these recommendations: approve and implement some or all of them, or ignore them and ultimately tell us to go pound sand."